Do you hear what I hear?

above picture courtesy Sophia

 

 

Ava had a hearing test at Children's hospital the other day. It's the first to rule out in the process of figuring out why she isn't really talking. I'm no longer in denial about Ava's lack of language. I wanted to give her some time to see if she would pick up her pace at using words, but I felt that the last month not only produced a standstill, it seemed like there was regression. I am fully aware of the wide span of language development at this age. I really wanted to give her the benefit of not comparing her to her early talking older sister. Factor in a never quiet Sophia (seriously, that girl does not stop talking. Ever. She has the gift of gab. God help us all if she takes after my Aunt Jacque. Or my cousin Stacey.) But Ava doesn't really say words. She says stuff with inflection. Does a lot of pointing and whining. She screams for things she wants. It's frustrating for all parties. She also has Miss Chatterbox Sophia to tell me what Ava wants. And then there is the pacifier, which I'm sure doesn't help matters. But it all comes down to her prematurity and that she should be streamlined into programs to evaluate her for a speech delay and to give her the help she needs. So I started making the calls a few weeks ago and discovered that there has been major funding and budget cuts to these programs. Everything is impacted. And I felt like I screwed up on taking the wait and see approach. The resources were there when I was offered them back at Ava's last high risk assessment. Enter the guilt factor, and I kind of kicked into high speed panic trying to get Ava help. After hitting a few roadblocks, I talked to her pediatrician, who sent referrals to the proper channels. She also suggested I get Ava's hearing ruled out, hence the appointment. Perhaps she was hearing us but the sounds were muffled. That would make sense, given that she says words back muffled. I doubted that she had hearing problems. She seems oversensitive to noise, really. But I am fully on board to ruling everything out.

Ava passed the hearing test with flying colors. If there were a parade for this event, she would have been crowned queen. As I was filling out the questions in the waiting room for her appointment, one of the questions asked if I had concerns about her behavior. Um, she's a holy terror. Yes! So wouldn't it be par for the course that Ava sat perfectly still during the entire hearing exam. She did not even squirm. All subjects were amazed at her behavior. I asked if I could bring her back for some peace and quiet in the future. Surely they pump some type of happy gas or Valium into that place, because Ava did not have one outburst. The person performing the test must have thought I was nuts for even mentioning behavioral issues.

So now that she in fact hears as clear as a bell, we move onto the next step and wait for the regional center to call back and start the interview process. I am told this can take 45 days. In the meantime, I will continue to work with her like I have. I also signed up for a group session with her that takes place once a month at a speech pathology center, just to see if I can get some more tools and information on "Expressive Delay" which is the current theory for why Ava isn't talking as much as she should at this point.